Champion

Chapter 32

As Astinus turned to exit David realized he was boned. He had no idea how big this continent was, and Laurena had only mentioned that their destination was along the road to Calavius. He could survive on his own easily enough, but getting the f**k off this madhouse world had just become his top priority. He didn't know if Eros could do that, but it seemed like his best shot at the moment. He would have to play nice if he wanted back home.

"Fine," David barely managed to say through his rage. "But just Sapphire. I'm not spending another minute with 'the w***e'."

"You misunderstand Champion," Astinus explained to him, turning back from the door. "Being taught the errors of your actions by Sapphire and Laurena is your penance. Guiding you and teaching you are Sapphire's penance. You will both seek redemption together, and it is Laurena's task to oversee your education."

David closed his eyes and took a deep breath. f**k. f*****g fucker pacifist motherfucking bullshit holier-than-thou f**k!!

Opening his eyes, David walked to the priest and moved into his personal space. Leaning in to put his face less than six inches from the shorter man's eyes, he glared every ounce of his hatred at the priest as he spoke.

"Fine, asshole, you win. I'll let the bitches tag along. But understand something. If I get to this Field of Woe and Eros isn't there, or he can't send me back to my world, I'm coming back here. When I do, we will revisit this conversation...and I can assure you that you will not like what I have to say."

***

Upon leaving David's room, Astinus sought out Laurena. He found her sitting in the temple kitchens, angrily wiping tears from her face.

"How are you my dear?" Astinus asked her gently.

"I am fine, Priest Astinus," she said stiffly, not turning to look at him.

"I am sorry that David was so harsh with you," he said, "but there was a good reason I asked him to miss the Blessings of Eros. His world is not like ours, and he does not understand the Blessings as we do.

"He sees them as wanton acts of lust and hedonism, not a sharing of love and affection amongst the faithful. Your attempts to sway his feelings for you were successful, but you did not account for how his differences would affect the manner in which he would act on those feelings."

Surprised that the priest had discovered her deception during the service, as well as her attempts to seduce the Champion, Laurena turned to face him, but could find no words to speak in her defense.

"So now he sees you as a wanton w***e, which is how those of his world would view your actions. And you must find a way to work past that belief and teach him of Eros' love; for he has agreed to the penance that we discussed last night. You and Sapphire will both have to counsel him on the road to Eros, and neither is particularly enamored of their sentence," he explained.

"But I still don't understand," Laurena begged of the older priest. "He saved me, and he was only defending himself. I know that Eros commands all life be held sacred, but should he have allowed such men to harm me, and himself? Eros himself has stated that it is often necessary to take a life in the defense of others or oneself, and that such actions are permitted."

Sighing, Astinus seated himself next to the acolyte. He took a few moments to order his thoughts, so that he could help the young woman understand the enormity of his decision; as well as her role in the days ahead.

"David's actions to save you, and later to defend himself, would have been permitted if he respected the lives he took. But he did not. He does not see eight men who lost their way; he sees eight wastes of human potential that deserved death. He does not hold their lives to be as valuable as yours, or his own. Thus he has broken with Eros' decree. His punishment is harsh, far harsher than I would like, but he mustlearn why all life is sacred if he is to become a worthy Champion.

"He is angry about the loss of family and friends, he is angry about the attempts on his life, he is angry about those he has had to kill, and now he is angry about being punished for doing what he truly believes was the right thing. That anger will be his undoing if he cannot learn to set it aside and instead embrace love."

As the old priest noted the dawning realization on the face of the acolyte, he added another surprising fact.

"He is also angry about his feelings towards you."

"What feelings towards me?" she asked sarcastically. "He has made it quite clear he hates me."

"My dear, if he hated you, why would he have any concern for your actions?" the priest wisely inquired of the young woman. "If he had no care for you, why would your actions, good or bad, have any effect on him either way?"

"I did not think of that," the acolyte said, a small spark of hope flickering once again.

"You have little experience with jealously, Laurena," the priest replied, "so it is no surprise that you are unable to recognize it. But I assure you, that man's anger toward you is in no small way fueled by his jealousy over your Blessing of other men and not him."

"But I was just doing as our god commands," she said, defending her actions.

"And David does not understand that. He does not understand our faith. All he understands is his world, and that is the lens through which he will view us until you teach him otherwise." Astinus explained to her. "It will be your responsibility to show him our faith, to give him an understanding of Eros' love beyond the carnal. And you must also help Sapphire, for though she has never been one of the faithful; her actions dictate that she must pay penance for her crime."

"If she is not one of the faithful, why would you choose this penance for her? How could she be of use teaching David our ways if she does not follow them herself?" Laurena asked in confusion.

"Her father was once one of my faithful, but after he met his wife he told me that she gave him all of the love that he would ever need. He stopped coming to service, but would still visit with me whenever he came through town. Later, he began to bring his daughter with him on his travels, once she came of age. She had only ever known her mother's faith, and he wanted her to learn of ours.

"Whenever he stopped, we would sit and talk long into the night, discussing our faith and morality. He wanted his daughter to understand his world as well as she understood her mother's."

"Her mother is a dragon, or dragon-kin isn't she?" the acolyte deduced.

"Yes, she is a Dracian. Her mother is half water dragon, and she raised Sapphire with her beliefs," the priest confirmed, "but the girl decided she wanted to follow in her father's footsteps and become a trader. So he taught her of our world, and allowed her to travel with him to learn our ways as well as the ways of a trader.

"You were raised with our faith, and know of nothing else. She knows what it is like to view our religion from the outside, and may be able to help David understand it better than you can."

Laurena really did not like that idea. She wanted the Champion to rely on her, not some other woman; especially not someone that looked like Sapphire. It wasn't fair that she was part dragon. Her beauty was the result of an unnatural magical advantage, unlike the divine craftsmanship that Eros had blessed Laurena with.

"Priest Astinus, I do not believe I need her help. I am well versed in the teachings of Eros, and I am more than capable of sharing that knowledge with the Champion," Laurena challenged him.